Sand bags are used in a variety of applications including fluid containment in forming containment levees or other similar structures to retain the flow of a fluid, in military applications to form barrier structures such as bunkers, and in construction applications to provide a support structure for pipelines. Sand bags may also be used in weight applications, such as ballast applications or other applications requiring an applied load.
Often sand bags are formed by manually filling a mesh-type bag with sand and manually closing the bag. The bag may be made of a saturable or water (fluid) permeable material, such as a polypropylene-based or burlap material and/or closed using a method which permits ingression or leakage of water (or other fluid being contained) into the bag, such that the fluid wets the bag material and the sand and is retained by the sand bag substantially increasing the weight of the bag. Sand bags may deteriorate or break due to breakdown of the bag material due to the increased stress of the wetted sand, deterioration from exposure to ultraviolet (UV) light, exposure to chemicals in the fluid being contained, etc. Closing methods to close the sand bag after filling may allow leakage of sand from the bag or may be non-permanent such that the closure does not provide a long term sealing method to contain the sand in the bag. Breakdown and deterioration of the sand bags may weaken the barrier or containment structure formed by the sand bags, allow spillage of the sand from the bag which may necessitate clean-up actions, and prevent recovery of the sand bags for storage, recycling, and/or reuse.